Best way to demonstrate making music with a computer?

**Lambox** · 01-14-2010, 03:24 PM

For one of my college courses (a basic music course), you have the option of demonstrating a musical instrument that you are proficient in for 100 points (which is a whole letter grade). So I talked to my professor and she's happy to let me do something with the computer.

So I'm thinking I'm going to bring in a MIDI controller and do some basic routine.

At this point, I have two ideas in my head. Both of which involve some playing over some basic beat. The first would be to use a MIDI keyboard (this) and just play some melody.

The other would be to use something with pads (this) and do something cool using samples from a "well-known" song and do a juggling routine of sorts.

I'm super excited about the whole thing. Anybody have any suggestions on what would be cooler? I'm kinda leaning towards the pads.

**charo** · 01-14-2010, 03:59 PM

just an idea, you could do it all with freeware, even down to using a free linux audio distro. you could download artistX, burn it to dvd, and use one of the various midi/audio programs or even the hydrogen drum machine, should still work fine with your controller (provided they didn't give it partial midi that requires windows drivers)

I think it would be cool to be able to hand over a dvd with that distro to your professor after the project and maybe they will get introduced to the power of linux audio and freeware, esp in a educational setting. hopefully they will be impressed that you did it with software anyone could use.

good luck

**Weezi** · 01-14-2010, 04:19 PM

Also, adding onto the comment above-

Giving a demonstration on how anyone can get a start on the educational musical venture you're demonstrating really gets points from professor/teachers, when you get the rest of the class involved or indulge the possibility and ease of acquisition for materials needed to learn the skill, at least in my experience, it really speaks to their whole view of the presentation process.

**DvlsAdvct** · 01-14-2010, 04:20 PM

If you're going to do something like this I'd say you'd definitely need to do a cue juggling/effects routine. That way you can show the "instrument" of the computer, as opposed to just a VST, y'know?

**BestLegsinHD** · 01-14-2010, 05:14 PM

can you play the piano?

if so you can do some simple demonstrations of synthesizers. try making a patch from scratch and showcase the basic ADSR features. at the end of demonstrating that, throw down a drum loop and play along with it. eh?